R.A. Farrokhnia, recipient of Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, is the Founding Director of “Advanced Projects and Applied Research in Fintech” Program at Columbia (fintech.gsb.columbia.edu). He teaches at both Columbia Business and Engineering Schools and is a lecturer and board member of the Knight-Bagehot Program at Columbia Journalism School. He is also the founder and Managing Principal of a research, development, and deployment DevLab with a focus on ventures in fintech, data/AI, and enterprise software.

Prof. Farrokhnia academic endeavors center on innovation and integration of industrial, operational and business analyses with practical ideation and implementation of agile, inventive and design-centric tech solutions. Having earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University, he has extensive global professional experience and collaborates often in numerous capacities with tier-1 multinationals. His programs and commentary have been featured in best-selling books and leading publications such as The New York Time, Barron’s and Wired.